Acne is not purely a teenage predicament, 20 to 40% of the adults do encounter problems with acne. In fact, some people are only being paid the first visit in their 40s! The problems of Acne stems from many reasons, which include an overactive sebaceous gland, genetic factors, or lifestyle factors such as stress, excessive dead skin, damage to the skin caused by scratching, and clogging agents trapped on the skin when cosmetics used are not totally cleansed. Acne may also occur as premenstrual flares or due to certain medications such as strong steroid creams. Basically, Acne is formed by a collection of sebum (oil), bacteria and dead cells trapped in the lining of the hair follicle (skin pore). Normally the lining of the hair follicle sheds a layer of dead skin cells at regular intervals. Secretions from the sebaceous gland in the skin push the dead skin cells to the surface. When excessive oil is being produced however, the dead cells will clump together, forming a block at the opening of the hair follicle. When bacteria, which naturally occurs within the hair follicle, starts to break down the material accumulated within the clogged pore, irritating fatty acids are produced. This will cause pressure to build up within the pore, and the pore will be swollen. Redness and inflammation also occur in response to the infection.
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